Get On With the Game!…
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Get On With the Game!…
Salford Diocese Relay of Prayer
On Tuesday we welcomed children and staff from St. Anne’s RC School, Audenshaw who brought the Diocesan Relay of Prayer Torch to Denton. Its first stop was St. Mary’s. The children from St. Anne’s had been learning about Azaerbaijan and they led an assembly telling us all about this country and performed an Azaerbaijani dance.
On Wednesday, it was our turn to pass the torch on to St Thomas More College. After an assembly at St. Mary’s, our Y6 ambassadors led by St Thomas More’s Samba band, carried the Prayer Torch to our partner high school accompanied by a canoe—symbolic of Tuvalu – the country we have been learning about.
The procession,along the streets of Denton, was joined by parents and friends of St. Mary’s and many people came out to see what was happening. Our ambassadors and Y4 received a rapturous welcome when we arrived at St Thomas More as students and staff lined the driveway and cheered our arrival. Our Y6 ambassadors, then led a specially prepared assembly on Tuvalu and our Y4 children performed a liturgical dance. The assembly closed with the transfer of the Prayer Torch to the ambassadors from St Thomas More.
Later that day, the students of St Thomas More took the Prayer Torch to St John Fisher School. On Thursday, the children from St John Fisher carried the Prayer Torch as a relay to St Joseph’s, Reddish. We lined Kynder St and cheered the children on as the torch bearing relay passed school.
It has been an amazing three days for the three Catholic schools of Denton and represented a real coming together as one community—in the true spirit of the Olympics.
World Book Day
We dressed up as our favourite Book characters on World Book Day. Our Book Fair raised £567 for our school library. Thank you!
‘Personal Safety’ Awareness Raising Workshops
At St. Mary’s we are constantly trying to develop the children’s understanding of the importance of their own personal safety. ChildLine have visited school and introduced the Year 5 and 6 children to their new ‘Be Safe, Be Happy’ initiative which has a strong anti bullying / personal safety theme.
The children were complimented on their mature response to the themes covered by Mrs Tabner and their high level of engagement.
Class 1J raise lots of money for Macmillan Cancer Care
Our Y1 children raised £124.76 for Macmillan Cancer Care on Friday morning by holding a Coffee morning for their parents. Our budding baristas invited their parents along to watch them dramatize the story of ‘Dear Zoo’ as part of their ‘Explorers’ topic. The children then shared their ‘Dear Rainforest’ stories with their parents.
Y1 Rainforest Cafe
Congratulations to our Year 1 children who raised a fantastic £126.74 for Macmillan Cancer Care during their Rainforest Cafe morning.
The children sang specially chosen songs and acted out the story of ‘Dear Zoo’.
They then read their individual ‘Dear Rainforest’ stories to their mums and dads.
International Day
Thank you to the International Society who visited school on Tuesday and led a series of workshops on different countries around the world. Each KS2 child was given a passport and found out about lifestyle and culture of places as diverse as Mexico, China, Spain and Costa Rica. Our Y5/6 children are now going to work collaboratively to research a country linked to their thematic work and present this information in a stimulating way to our KS1 children.
Eco-Schools Vision Statement
1. Saving Money
We hope that by making small changes to the environmental management of St. Mary’s it will result in some financial saving. This will be achieved by cutting out draughts, closing doors and windows, switching off lights and appliances when not in use will help reduce energy bills.
2. Recognition and Publicity
Through Eco-Schools we hope to raise the profile of St. Mary’s, in a way that is enjoyable and rewarding for the whole school community.
Celebrating our success will encourage people to work towards the next level and continue to be involved in the project long-term.
3. Links to the Curriculum
At St. Mary’s we are aiming to incorporate a variety of environmental topics into our curriculum, developing creative ways of learning for all pupils. It will provide real in –school issues for the children to investigate in a scientific and analytical way. Learning about being an Eco-School will provide the children with an overarching framework, helping pupils understand and link issues together, i.e. the connections between transport and pollution or management of the school grounds and increased biodiversity.
4. Links to the Community
We will aim to build strong partnerships with the local community; a vital part of Eco-schools, ensuring pupils can become more engaged in the decision making. It will involve as many pupils as possible, both inside and outside school, to raise their awareness of environmental issues.
5. School Improvements
Eco-schools is a project that all of St. Mary’s can work towards. It will provide an ideal focal point for across the year groups. By encouraging our pupils to take responsibility for the environmental management of our school, we will help them develop an increased sense of responsibility for their surroundings.
Eco-Schools Bronze Award
We’re very proud to have been awarded the ‘Eco-Schools’ bronze award:
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Our ‘Eco-Schools’ record can be found here.
Eco-Action Introduction
The Eco-Action team is made up of children from throughout KS2, with the help of Mr Whittle and Miss Wilson. We meet every other week to discuss aspects of the school and what we can do to make it more environmentally friendly.
We have recently carried out an audit of the school and will be acting upon this to make some changes for the better.
More information regarding the ‘Eco-Schools’ programme can be found on their website.